A Ku Klux Klan member who became a Roman Catholic priest has apologised to a black couple for burning a cross on their lawn 40 years ago – but they are not ready to forgive him yet.

Fr William Aitcheson sent a handwritten letter to Philip and Barbara Butler on September 8 in which he said he had been 'blinded by hate and ignorance' when he targeted them in 1977, according to the Washington Post.

Aitcheson was sentenced to 90 days in jail for criminal misdemeanor and ordered to pay $23,000 to the family, which he failed to. He has now sent cheques for that money, and another $9,600, paid for through private funds and loans. He told the Butlers in the letter obtained by WUSA9: 'I believe now that all people can live together in peace regardless of race.

'I also know that the symbol of the most enduring love the world has ever known must never be used as a weapon of terror. Its use against you was a despicable act. I seriously regret the suffering it caused you.'

He wrote in an editorial in the Arlington Catholic Herald in August that he had been an 'impressionable young man' when he was a KKK member. 'It's public information but it rarely comes up,' he said, adding: 'My actions were despicable. When I think back on burning crosses, a threatening letter, and so on, I feel as though I am speaking of somebody else. It's hard to believe that was me.'

He said: 'If there are any white supremacists reading this, I have a message for you: you will find no fulfillment in this ideology. Your hate will never be satisfied and your anger will never subside. I encourage you to find peace and mercy in the only place where it is authentic and unending: Jesus Christ.'

However, Barbara Butler said after a news conference on Friday that forgiveness would 'take some time'. 'For you to come into my life, 40 years, and say I'm sorry. I will pray on it. That's the only thing I can do.'

WUSA9 said the couple are now seeking another $68,000 representing interest on the unpaid initial amount from the law firm that originally represented them, and are considering a lawsuit against the Church, which they believe covered for Aitcheson. Their lawyer has also said they were harmed when Aitcheson was allowed to make his public confession in a Church newspaper.  

Aitcheson has stepped back from ministry.